Help choosing the right card;

Cash-Strapped.T32

Hi, just after a bit of help, and possibly to start a bit of discussion as often when reading other people's threads, I lean more from the stuff that is tangential to the question than I did from the actual "answer".

So, I'm looking to apply for a CC.
Honestly, I don't need one for spending as such - I'm perfectly able to manage my monthly spending, and nowadays I'm pretty good at budgeting...
(fist-bumps excel!)

I want the card in order to help rebuild my credit history, in prep for a planned house purchase in a few years from now - I got into a bit of hassle in 2012 when I was made redundant - it took a while but eventually cleared everything off, and haven't had any credit, barring my sim-only mobile since - After a few years to let all that unpleasantness leave my history, now is the time to get to fixing it!

* Planning to use this card for my regular spends.
* Planning to clear in full each month, or maybe leave just a token balance (literally a handful of pounds) to roll over in order to show that the CC company is making money off me like a good little customer.
* Planning on keeping the card for about a year, 18 months, then to move to a better rate.

So therefore the interest rate is not quite as important to me as it might be for others - I'm more interested in ease of use;
* Choosing my billing date, and (for now)
* Being able to pay easily manually without a direct debit.

I'm purposefully avoiding setting up new DDs for now, as I want to take advantage of some switching offers before long.

So I guess I'm asking - of the more easily obtainable cards out there (considering I don't have much history to go on), do any jump out at you that would meet that criteria?

I ask because some banks I've used in the past seemed to have really irritating online facilities - and it's reasonable that the same applies to CCs.
My ISAs (with HL and Orbis) are both managed online, but one site is a joy to use; it's clear what each action will result in & when you tell it to do something, you can see the result straight away, confirming that it's all gone through.
The other site, well - it can be like pulling teeth...

The CC's site doesn't need to be super-simple-dumbed-down, just intutive, and clear - does that make sense?

Thanks all

[Deleted User]

Any of the cards will meet your requirements.

Try and eligibility checker and select one that takes your fancy.

Nebulous2

No need to leave a balance either. It makes it look as if you can't pay. Unless you are on a promotional rate pay in full.

[Deleted User]

Always a good idea to set up a DD for min. payment, just in case you forget, you can add extra payments manually.

jimbo26

If you plan to pay it off every month then any card will do, and you will not need to swap in 18months. A card with an APR of 89% makes no difference if you pay it off every month.

Capital One, Aqua, and Vanquis all have eligibility checkers so you can see your chances of being approved. My wife got a Chrome Card (Vanquis) at quite a competitive 24.9% apr, not bad for a sub prime card. https://www.chromecard.co.uk/

MallyGirl

If you are doing this to build credit history then do setup the DD. One missed/late payment would undo loads of good work. The comment about savings the DDs for future switching makes no sense. If you switch to a bank that needs 2 DDs just move this CC's DD at that point.

2ilent8cho

Whilst any will do, why not get one that you will get a benefit from ? A Tesco clubcard one will give you extra points for things you are buying anyway. They do a foundation card if your history still has things like defaults on it. Or Barclaycard do a rewards card, i like them because when you make a manual payment the balance is available within 2 hours.

Cash-Strapped.T32

Thanks for the advice all - so, nobody seems to think that the ease of management of any CC differs significantly from any other?

2ilent8cho wrote: »

i like them because when you make a manual payment the balance is available within 2 hours.

This is the sort of thing I mean - if I make a payment, I'd like to see it come off the balance instantly, not wait for it to be recalculated at the next billing date, etc..
If they truly all show the current balance in real-time, and are equally easy to keep abreast of what's going on at all times then great - that's a big plus. :cool:

MallyGirl wrote: »

If you are doing this to build credit history then do setup the DD. One missed/late payment would undo loads of good work. The comment about savings the DDs for future switching makes no sense. If you switch to a bank that needs 2 DDs just move this CC's DD at that point.

Hmm, fair comment - I may have to reconsider my PoV on that one.
What I meant was though - I intend to open a new current acct soon to act as a bills account, which all my DDs will operate out of - this acct will only have my bills money going through it (plus a quick in/out transfer to meet any incentive requirements - if & when the time comes).

This account will also be the one I use to tart around for incentives - so while to me it will simply be my bills account, over its lifetime it'll actually be several different accounts with different providers.
But it seems I don't know... Untidy to set up a bunch of DD's on my main current acct now, only to have to switch them in a few months to the bills acct once I open it - does that make any more sense?

Anyway, it might be overly simplistic but that was my rationale for mentioning the DDs.

Nebulous2 wrote: »

No need to leave a balance either. It makes it look as if you can't pay. Unless you are on a promotional rate pay in full.

Thank you *very* much - I'm glad you made that point.
I wasn't 100% clear if it would be benficial for me to demonstrate that the lender was making a little bit of profit from me, or whether I should literally clear off every penny once my statement has been published/billing date has been reached.


Well, after reading your comments I've been on the Credit Club eligibility checker - I don't know if it's just being optimistic, but many cards are showing as being 95% likley - 100% in the case of the bad-history cards (money transfer cards obviously are less, starting at 80%).

Taking on board what Jimbo said about not assuming I have to "upgrade" later on, and what 2ilent8cho said about choosing one that will benefit me in ways other than simply re-building my history, I'll take a good look at what's available & think about it.

It seems that while I initially was going to base my desision soleley on the user-experience aspects of managing the card, I've got a load of other factors to consider too... :cool: